Despite the opposition’s claims that the firings of government workers are politically motivated, Minister of Labour, Senator Dion Foulkes said such claims could not be further from the truth.

Mr. Foulkes, speaking with reporters before a Cabinet meeting yesterday, said that although he is waiting on a report from the Director of Labour, the accusations made were unfounded.

“I am waiting for a full report from my Director of Labour, as soon as I get a full report I will make a statement concerning it.

“The accusation made by the PLP, I think it was either Fred Mitchel or Brave Davis, insinuating that this is politically motivated. I wish to assure the public and assure all of those affected that no politics was played in this matter, none whatsoever,” Mr. Foulkes said.

Mr. Foulkes stated that the government respected the rights of citizens and their political persuasion.

“Every Bahamian has the constitutional right to have the political preference of their choice; as a government we respect that, and we defend that.
“I think it is unfortunate what happened in terms of the politicizing of the matter. You are talking about people’s lives you’re talking about their livelihood,” Mr. Foulkes said.

Just last Friday, Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC) parted ways with 13 of its employees, Mr. Foulkes said he could not comment on the termination until he received a report.

“I don’t know exactly what happened and what the rational was. The board met, and the board made the decision with respect to those who were let go [and] I’d like to leave it like that at this time,” Mr. Foulkes said.

BAIC confirmed in a statement that the disengagement exercise was part of an ongoing “comprehensive review” of operations. The termination included a combination of contract workers, redundancy, and severance.